What is sensory memory?
Sensory memory is our ability to retain impressions of sensory information even though the original stimulus has already dissipated.
This is an interesting phenomenon; two intriguing experiments were performed on by Johann Andreas Segner, and the other by Sperling. Segner attached a glowing coal to a cartwheel and rotated the wheel at increasing speed until an unbroken circle of light was perceived by the observer. He calculated that the glowing coal needed to make a complete circle in under, 100ms to achieve this effect.

Sperlings’ study included presenting a grid of three rows of four letters for 50ms to volunteers. In one condition he asked subjects to report as many letters as they could remember after the letters had been presented. Then he presented the letters and asked the participators to report letters in a specific row. The participants could only present up to 4 letters in the first condition, and in the second he found that they could usually recall all of the letters in the specified row. His conclusion was that for a brief period of time the whole grid was accessible to the participants as sensory memory. Sensory memory is considered to last for under 1 second.

What memory system is known as “the gateway to consciousness?
Sensory memory is considered to be outside of conscious control, however, it is considered to be the gateway to the consciousness.

By what means is sensory information transferred to short-term memory?
Selective attention is the key to transferring sensory memory to short-term memory

If not attended to what happens to the information in the sensory memory?
The information fades away if you do not attend to it.

What is short-term memory?
Short term memory stores a limited amount of information for a limited amount of time (roughly 30-45 seconds).

In relation to short tem memory what is the key factor to that prevents information from being forgotten?
Rehearsal can prevent information from being forgotten.

What is maintenance rehearsal?

What is the elaborative rehearsal?

What is chunking and how does it affect short term memory.
Chunking refers to a strategy for making more efficient use of short term memory by recoding information. For example, instead of trying to understand the individual letters A,B,C,A try to chuck them together to form the word “ABCA.”
Chunking increases the capacity of information in the short term memory.

What is long term memory?
Long term memory as little as 30 seconds or as long as decades, and has an unlimited storage capacity.

How is long term memory organized?
Long term memories are typically divided up into two major categories, declarative memory and procedural memory. Long term memories are organized in different parts of the brain.

How does priming play a part in relation to long term memory?
Priming refers to activating particular representation or associations in memory just before carrying out an action or task. These associations are often regarded as unconscious. For example, After studying 20 words containing the word “milk” a subject may be ask to recall the words by telling them that a clue is “mil” This is called priming.

Can priming take place unconsciously?
Yes, priming can take place unconsciously.

What are the 3 main biological bases of memory?
The 3 main biological bases of memory are: Sensory memory, short term memory, and long term memory.

What is the decay theory?
The Decay theory states that when something new is learned, a neuro-chemical or memory trace is formed, but over time this trace tends to disintegrate.

What is the interference theory?
The Interference theory states that people forget not because memories are actually lost from storage, but because other information gets in the way of what people want to remember.

What is Retroactive interference?
Retroactive interference occurs when the material learned later disrupts retrieval of information leaned earlier. (New information interferes with Old information).

What is Proactive interference?
Proactive interference occurs when information learned earlier disrupts the recall of material leaned later. (New information interferes with Old information).

What are procedural memories?
Procedural memories are the implicit long term memory of skills and procedures, or how to knowledge.

What is declarative memory?
Declarative memory is the aspect of memory that stores facts and events.
Declarative memory is divided into episodic memory, and semantic memory.
What is episodic memory?
Episodic memory is the explicit memory of events. It included time, place, and associated emotions, which effect the quality of memorization.

What is Semantic memory?
Semantic is the memory of facts and concepts.

What are explicit memories?
Explicit memory is a type of memory that involves conscious memory, its sub-categories
Are Episodic memory, and Semantic memory.

What are implicit memories?
Implicit memories are memories that are recalled unconsciously, like riding a bike, using a pencil, or swimming. Procedural memory is implicit memories.

What is Anterograde amnesia?
Anterograde amnesia is a form of amnesia, or memory loss, where new events are not transferred to long-term memory after the onset of the disorder.
The suffer of the Anterograde amnesia will not be able to remember explicitly, anything that occurs after his or her attention is shifted away from one subject for more than a few seconds.
(Can remember old memories but can not form new memories).

What is Retrograde amnesia?
Retrograde amnesia is a form of amnesia where someone will be unable to recall events that occurred before the onset of amnesia.

Are memories infallible?
No memories can be distorted because of confabulations, and interference. Confabulation is a process by which a person confuses their imagination with memory, or confusing true memories with false memories.

What is the impact of leading or suggestive questioning when dealing with memory?
Leading questions can create false memory recall, because people tend to feel in the blanks. Examples of leading questions would be: What color was his coat, instead of was he wearing a coat?

What are the different concerns set forth about eye witness testimony?
Eye witness testimonies remain the strongest form of evidence in the court room. But some psychologists suggest that it can create false convictions. Many concerns about eye witness testimony are generated on the basis that memory is not infallible, and people’s memories can be distorted, confabulated or even constructed during the process of questing.

Are repressed memories true or false?
Repressed memories can be true. Like Fraud suggested, the reason that some memories are suppressed is because they are very traumatic and it would not be good for our organism to recall them.

The Limbic system is associated with what aspects of our behavior?
The limbic system is associated with emotions, learning, and memory.

What are some of the structures that make up the limbic system?
The Limbic system is composed of the hippocampus, amygdale, cingulate gyrus, fornicate gyrus, archicortex, and hypothalamus.

What is the significance of the hippocampus?
The hippocampus is a part of the brain located inside the temporal lobe. It forms part of the limbic system and plays a part in memory and navigation.

In defining emotions, do we know the direction of causation between our physiological responses and our emotions?
We don’t know the actual cause, but some theories such as the James-Lang theory suggest that the stimulus causes the change in the bodily function and that in tern creates the notion that I am afraid or, I am angry, I am happy ext…
Another theory called the Cannon-Bard theory is one that says that the Thalamus is activated by stimuli, and then sends a message to the cerebral cortex and simultaneously you are scared, and your heart beats faster.

How does Maranon define emotions?

How does Schachter and Singer theory, what does it highlight?

How does the James-Lang theory define emotions?

How does it differ from the Schachter and Lange theory?

What are drawl backs of the James-Lang theory?

How does the Cannon-Bard theory define emotion?

What are the adrenal glands? Where are the adrenal glands located?
Adrenal glands are located in the kidneys, the produce hormones that are responsible for emotions.

What is the significance of the amygdala?
The amygdala is a warning center, it is believed to play a key role in emotions.
It is linked to both fear and pleasure responses.

Does it analyze the incoming information?
NO
Once the amygdale is activated, what system is triggered? What does this system contribute to?
The SNS is activated, this system activates the adrenal gland located in the kidney, this system prepares a person for fight or flight.

Where is the amygdale located?
The amygdala is located in the temporal lobe of the brain, and is part of the limbic system.

What is the significance of the thalamus?
The thalamus acts like a post office, it sends the incoming stimuli to the proper areas of the brain.

What is the cortical pathway?
The cortical pathway is a set of incoming neuro impulses that are transferred directly from the thalamus, to the cerebral cortex (Same as the high road).

What is the thalamic pathway?
The thalamic pathway is a set of neuo impulses that are transferred directly to the amygdala (Same as the low road).

What advantage does the thalamic pathway have over the cortical pathway?
The thalamic pathway saves time, when it comes to the fight or flight concept.
However, the stimuli is not processed and, therefore, has a higher probability of being a false representation of reality.

Once the amygdala is activated it sends information to what structure in order to activate the autonomic nervous system?
One the amygdale is activated it sends neuro impulses to the hypothalamus, this in turn activates the autonomic nervous system.

Hippocampus is involved in what type of memory?
The hippocampus is involved in declarative memory, which is somatic, and episodic (or conscious memory).

Hippocampus damage leads to what type of amnesia?
When the hippocampus is damaged it can lead to Anterograde amnesia. The deduction is that if the hippocampus is involved in declarative (explicit memories) then a damaged hippocampus would mean that the subject would not be able to recall new information, a characteristic of Anterograd amnesia?

What part of the brain is involved in procedural memory?
The cerebellum is involved in procedural (Implicit memory).

What part of the brain is involved in decision making?
The prefrontal cortex is involved in decision making.